Chapter 4 (65)
86 | THE SENTENCES, BOOK 3
Chapter 4 (65) 1. ON THE LITIGATION AMONG GOD, MAN, AND THE DEVIL. And if those three should come to court, namely God, man, and the devil, the devil and man would have no objection to make against God. For the devil would be convicted of the injury which he did to God by fraudulently stealing and violently retaining his servant, namely man. Man also would be convicted for having done injury to God by holding his commands in contempt and submitting himself to another's dominion. The devil would also be convicted of the injury done to man because first he deceived him with a false promise, and then harmed him by subjecting him to many evils.
And so the devil, on his own part, unjustly kept man in bondage, but man justly was so kept; the devil never merited to have power over man, but man, by his fault, merited to suffer the tyranny of the devil.
2. And so, if God, who ruled over both of the others, had wanted to free man by force, he could most righteously free man by the power of his command alone; but for the cause set out above,' he willed to make use of the justice of humility —AUGUSTINE, IN BOOK 13, ON THE TRINITY.
And while he was crucified in his mortal flesh, we were justified, that is, we were taken away from the power of the devil by the remission of sins, and so the devil is overcome by Christ through justice, and not through power.' As to how our sins were remitted in his blood, there is an explanation above."
Chapter 5 (66)
1. ON THE HANDING OVER OF CHRIST, WHICH IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN DONE
BY THE FATHER, THE SON, JUDAS, AND THE JEWS. And so Christ is the priest, as he is also the victim and the price of our reconciliation.' He offered himself on the altar of the cross not to the devil, but to the triune
God, and he did so for all with regard to the sufficiency of the price,' but only for the elect with regard to its efficacy, because he brought about salvation only for the predestined.
2. And we read of him that he was handed over by the Father,' and that he handed himself over,' and that both Judas and the Jews handed him over.' He handed himself over, because he freely came to his passion; and 'Above, c3 n2.
*This paraphrases Augustine, De Trinitate, we 13.cl4nl8.
'Dist. 19 cl nn1 and 4.
'Cf. Hebr. 9, 25; Rom. 5, 10.
°Cf. Heb. 5, 9.
3Cf. Rom. 8, 32.
"Ct. Galy 2,20; Ephe 5, 2 *CiaMt. 26, 257 26/48.
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